The Princess and the Frog vs. Tangled?

[HM GhostHostess]

I have noticed that Tangled has a gigantic following and was an instant hit when it was released. It made tons of money at the box office and the merchandise is heavily in demand. I was very impressed by Tangled and I think it will definitely become a Disney classic.

In comparison, I noticed that Princess and the Frog, which was released the year before Tangled, made an average amount of money at the box office, but people were buying up all the merchandise even before the movie was released. Critics seemed to receive it well and the general public enjoyed it. I thoroughly enjoyed the Princess and the Frog. However, it has not become a big of hit as Tangled and the public seems to have "thrown away" the Princess and the Frog in favor of Tangled.

I can't help but wonder why people are so obsessed over Tangled, while they completely disregard the Princess and the Frog. Is it because people are prejudiced against hand-drawn films? Is it because Disney marketed Tangled like Dreamworks does their films?

As stated before, I loved Tangled, but I thought that the Princess and the Frog was a better film. I can't help but feel a little sad that people don't seem to care for the Princess and the Frog anymore. I also feel that the supreme success of Tangled versus the Princess and the Frog will hurt the chances of the return of hand-drawn animation.

So WDW Magic members, which film do you like better and why?

 

[Captain Chaos]

Tangled over Princess and the Frog... I enjoyed both movies, but Tangled, in my opinion, was the better movie...

 

[Moving Forward]

It's a toss-up, but I chose Tangled because of less annoying characters. The Cajun accent that Jim Cummings used for his character in Princess is really annoying, but I love the hand-drawn animation and John Goodman. I also did not like the fact that Disney was PC in the making of Princess by changing Tiana's name, etc.

 

[bmarkelon]

This is a tough one for me too, I liked them both a lot and it's a near tie. I voted Princess and the Frog because I liked the music a lot more and the story/message was a little stronger. I would say my kiddos probably would agree with my vote. My DD loved Princess and the Frog, she has the bed set.

 

[plaz10]

This is no contest for me - Tangled all the way!

Not to say I disliked Princess and the Frog...it wasn't bad. it just wasn't great either (IMO).

But Tangled was FANTASTIC. It's in my top 5 Disney movies of all time

 

[erasure fan1]

Although I liked tangled, princess and the frog was Disneys best animated movie since the lion king in my eyes. I also think the music was a ton better in TP&TF. I really think princess and the frog has all the makings of a great fantasyland dark ride.

 

[Bob Saget]

Princess And The Frog didn't fare as well as Tangled for 3 big reasons:

1). Recent 2D Reputation
P&F was the first major 2D animated feature the studio had released since such "gems" as: Home On The Range, Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, etc. To be quite honest, I was letdown by all three. They all lacked (imo) the music, story, characters, and charm of what makes the traditional Walt Disney classic. Because of the bad taste left in my mouth after those 3 mentioned animated films...I too was very worried about P&F. I almost skipped it at the theaters alltogether. Luckily, I gave P&F a shot..and really enjoyed the film. It felt like a refreshing visit back to the early - mid 90's when Disney 2D animation was in it's prime. But the reputation of recent animated attempts could have turned many people off of buying a theater ticket.

2). Animation Evolution
While P&F is a beautifully animated film...the type of animation behind it really had run it's course by the time it was released. The world had moved on to Computer/3D/CGI animation, and even though it pains me to say it...2D really has become a dinosaur.

3). Avatar
Probably the biggest factor was that P&F's theatrical run spent most of it's weeks going up against this James Cameron flick you may have heard of called Avatar. It wouldn't have mattered if Disney was giving all patrons free candy & beverage for every ticket purchased...there was no way a cartoon would fare well up against Avatar's huge following.

 

[PhoenixSpirit]

I have both movies in my collection, and enjoy both, however I just love the humour of Tangled, and the fact that I just felt the chemistry between Rapunzel and Flynn. Plus Maximus... I laugh everytime Tangled reminds me of other classics, and I will happily watch it again and again.

 

[Freshee61]

That's a good question. I picked tangled but princess and the frog is great too.

 

[imagineer boy]

I thought be movies were good, and very nice refreshments from the typical pop-culture laden CGI movies these days. However I didn't think either one brought a whole lot of anything new to the plate. To me it just felt like a retread of the 90s rennaissance using the same cliches and formulas. I want to see Disney keep doing 2-D animation, but they really need to reinvent themselves again.

I think a main problem with both of these movies is the songs. They're not bad, but I personally didn't find any of them in both movies to be very memorable at all. Especially in Tangled (which is why I chose PatF).

2). Animation Evolution
While P&F is a beautifully animated film...the type of animation behind it really had run it's course by the time it was released. The world had moved on to Computer/3D/CGI animation, and even though it pains me to say it...2D really has become a dinosaur.

I disagree. If rthat was the case, then why do people still enjoy classic Disney animated movies? Like I said, 2-D animation needs to reinvent its self with new ideas and new talent. PatF did that to a degree, but not a whole lot. I think its lack of major success was mostly due to Avatar. Yet another reason for me to hate that movie. :lol:

 

[Disneyfanman]

I thought Tangled was a far superior film. I was disappointed by my first viewing of TPATF, tho I have warmed to the film over time. I own both movies. I really think it had very little to do with the style of animation. We have moved past all of that.

Avatar did take away some Box Office muscle from TPATF, but I really think it came down to marketing. At least for the first couple of weeks. All of my family was totally jazzed to go see Tangled. I had to drag them to TPATF. In that one specific case, the name change worked and the marketing (featuring the humor upfront, and the story second) really resonated with Tangled. After that the word of mouth really helped to give it legs.

My 22 year old daughter called Repunzel the "Best Disney Princess Ever". While that was over the top, the character was great. Tangled also had a much better villian. Maximus and Louie were the same type of supporting character. Maximus was a scream. Louie felt forced.

The music in TPATF was much better constructed, but the music of Tangled was catchy and upbeat. Totally POP, in the way that the Jungle Book music was catchy and upbeat. Again, my kids had no interest in purchasing TPATF music, but they stopped at the store on the way home and bought the Tangled CD.

In the end, I have watched Tangled many times over the past year. When I was at Disneyland last week I saw many young girls dressed as Repunzel. I didn't see a single one dressed at Tiana. Not one.

So Marketing missed the target, and Tangled was a better film. Double whammy. IMHO.

 

[Bob Saget]

As far as how the general worldwide public enjoyed each film, the IMDB site gives:
Tangled 7.8
Princess and the Frog 7.2
That's pretty neck 'n neck with how that rating system is run (and is very accurate to the overall viewing consensus). Both films were deemed as very enjoyable, and while neither were Disney's best animated features, they were received exceedingly well by the public. We can only hope the days of Atlantis and Treasure Planet are far behind us.

Tangled also had a much better villian.

To each their own, but I'm gonna have to disagree with that one. Mother Gothel in Tangled seemed rather underwhelming (imo). As much as I enjoyed Tangled, the villain was the one aspect I thought needed work the most. I wish they had made her colder; more sinister like the evil stepmother from Cinderella. While they did an excellent job telling her backstory of why she needed Rapunzel's hair to survive/stay young, they failed to give her the traits of a true Disney classic villain. (Could you honestly see Cinderella's Stepmother or Maleficent fall for the 'ol "why don't you go off for 3 days to buy me some paint because it's my birthday..." gag)?

Princess & Frog's Dr. Facilier on the other hand was a true showstopper. Definitely in my top-5 list of best Disney villains of all time.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Dr. Facilier in Princess & Frog was a true showstopper. Definitely in my top-5 list of best Disney villains of all time.

Mine too... and received very well by the public... Very sinister... So much so that is has been incorporated into MNSSHP Villains castle stage show, and I think he even became the primary host of it this year... I know he began the show at least where I thought Maleficent always had the honor of being the lead villain... She still may be but Facilier has moved up the pecking order LOL...

 

[Bob Saget]

Mine too... and received very well by the public... Very sinister... So much so that is has been incorporated into MNSSHP Villains castle stage show, and I think he even became the primary host of it this year... I know he began the show at least where I thought Maleficent always had the honor of being the lead villain... She still may be but Facilier has moved up the pecking order LOL...

Yes! We heard Faci was the new master of ceremonies for last Halloween. Sadly we didn't get to go last yr, but heard he was awesome.
"Friends on the Other Side" is a great song that is a perfect fit for MNSSHP.

 

[erasure fan1]

I think a main problem with both of these movies is the songs. They're not bad, but I personally didn't find any of them in both movies to be very memorable at all. Especially in Tangled (which is why I chose PatF).

I agree on Tangled, it had 1 song I thought was good, everything else for me was extremely sub-par. PatF on the other hand I liked the music as much as Mermaid and Aladdin.

I disagree. If that was the case, then why do people still enjoy classic Disney animated movies? Like I said, 2-D animation needs to reinvent its self with new ideas and new talent. PatF did that to a degree, but not a whole lot. I think its lack of major success was mostly due to Avatar. Yet another reason for me to hate that movie. :lol:

I agree, if there was no demand for it Lion King wouldnt have done so well on re-release. I still think that PatF biggest problem was how the film was marketed. (Avatar didnt help either) It was sold as a princess movie and that really hurt it. I know we were turned off by the previews and thought oh man more princess garbage. I think they realized it too as thats why they changed the name from Rapunzel to Tangled.

 

[pumpkin7]

i chose Tangled. i've watched them both recently and however beautifully made PatF is (it is a stunning piece of animation), Tangled just feels as though it has a better story line, more memorable songs, and more likeable characters.

 

[Chrononymous]

Princess and the Frog has a great heroine, good music and a superb villain(one of my favorites) but I think the side characters are some of the most annoying in Disney film history.

Tangled also has a great villain, and awesome heroine. And it is an action adventure film...so I have to give it the edge.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Tangled for its far superior secondary animal characters (who were actually cute and funny), more appealing male lead and better told story. The music I felt was a little better too.

PatF did have great background art (especially in the way New Orleans itself was shown), a likeable heroine and villain and the really hilarious Charolette, but that's about it for me.

 

[Farerb]

I find Tangled to be a very basic and unremarkable film. They basically took Ariel, made her more ditzy and paired her with a knock off of Sinbad or the douchebags from El Dorado. And then they take settings or situations from various previous movies, like the dynamic between Gothel and Rapunzel is a tamer version of Frollo and Quasimodo, the entire kingdom tour and the boat ride is from The Little Mermaid, the duet is like A Whole New World, the ending when Flynn dies and comes back to life is taken from Beauty and the Beast, the entire lost princess angle is from Anastasia. And then the movie is being irreverent/ironic/cynical throughout its runtime, as if they are ashamed of its fairytale source material. I get why it was popular back then because I guess people really wanted that standard Disney fairytale after 10 years or more of not getting one, but I don't think the movie aged well.

The Princess and the Frog isn't perfect, but I appreciate its approach and that it remained sincere and took a little bit more risks and tried to distinguish itself from previous Disney movies. When I rewatch Tangled, I just ask myself why I don't just watch Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin, which have better characters and better music.